Man held on $550,000 bail in accident that killed 2 kids

Jason MeisnerTribune reporter

A Chicago man was high on opiates and PCP and fleeing a traffic crash when his SUV slammed into a car at a Southwest Side intersection, killing two young children and seriously injuring their parents, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Joey Chavez, 36, of the 2200 block of South St. Louis Avenue, was ordered held on a $550,000 bond on multiple charges of aggravated DUI resulting in death and injury.

Prosecutors said Chavez, whose driver’s license was already suspended, was speeding in a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer when it crashed into another car at 43rd Street and Western Avenue about 6:35 p.m. Saturday.

Chavez fled south from the scene at a high rate of speed, ran a blinking red light at 45th Street and rear-ended a 1997 Dodge Neon, killing 10-month-old Julissa Ochoa and her brother Eric, 5, according to police and prosecutors.

Tests conducted at Stroger Hospital of Cook County found Chavez had opiates and PCP in his system. He has seven felony convictions on his record for offenses including drug possession, retail theft and aggravated battery, prosecutors said.